by Green, Vicki
“Penny for your thoughts.” I jump at the sound of his strong and deep male voice. My hand flies over my heart as my head whips around. “Geez, I’m sorry, Bren. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he says walking over to me.
My rapid breathing begins to slowly calm down. “No, you’re fine. I guess I’m just a little jumpy.” I smile and in return I get his dimpled one. My heart rate picks up again.
He points to the chair beside me. “May I?” I nod and he sits down, looking out at the mountains. I take a good look at him in the moonlight. He must really stay fit. He’s muscular in all the right places, trim waistline and his skin looks baby soft. Wow, ok. Enough staring. Shit!
My eyes return back to the other breathtaking view, the mountains and I sigh. “It’s so gorgeous here. How had I not ever heard of this place? It’s so serene, so untouched, so hidden.”
“Those that find their way here, are here for a purpose. They find the peace they are looking for and sometimes much more.” He turns and gives me his gorgeous smile.
“Are you one of them?” I say smiling back.
He nods and gets quiet. We sit there for a long time, just enjoying each other’s company. It almost startles me when he speaks again. “Some end up talking about why they’ve been led here, others never do. I’ve told a couple of people my reason, it actually helped.” He looks at me again. A serious look falls across his handsome face. “I’d like to tell you. Someday.” He stands and stretches, his flat stomach with wisps of light blonde hair showing as his shirt rides up. I involuntarily lick my lips. My eyes quickly move to his face to see him looking at me, his smile widening. “But, for now, I’m hitting the bed. I like to jog on the trail in the early morning. You have a good night’s sleep, Bren and I’ll see you tomorrow.” I watch as he walks into the house. There won’t be a lot of sleep for me again tonight.
Chapter Four
As I jog the trail, I can’t stop thinking of Bren. The look on her face as I stretched last night was full of desire. And when she licked her lips, damn! I had to go take a cold shower and do something I haven’t done for a long time. I had to take care of myself. It felt so good as I imagined her hand wrapped around my cock, then her mouth on me. Didn’t take long to get my release, unfortunately. Yeah, it’s been too long.
I had to take another cold shower after my run, and then I headed to the small gym in town. After being here my first six months I ended up buying it from the owner who was ready to retire. It was a perfect opportunity for me, and the place pretty much runs itself. I just check in from time to time, when I get bored. The manager, Aaron, is as fit as they come. He specializes in kickboxing and helps form a workout plan for whomever needs or wants it. He practically lives there. He loves it so much.
“Hey, boss! What’s shakin’?” He says patting me hard on my back. I laugh and pat his back equally as hard.
“Not much. Just checking in. Did we get those posters in?” He nods and takes me to the supply closet to show me. “Excellent. Can you get someone to get those up as soon as possible? This is a great cause, raising money for the school and I think people will love to be a part of it.”
“Yes sir, boss,” he says with a smirk. We head back to the front counter. He leans on it with his elbows. He gives me a weird look, and he smirks at me again. “So, new chick in town, huh? A real looker, nice body too.” Shit, like I haven’t noticed, seriously? “But I guess you would know all about that, huh? I hear she lives at the boarding house with you.” He winks.
I laugh. “She lives at the same boarding house that I do but she doesn’t live with me.” I wish. What? Where’d that come from? My inner thoughts are starting to get the best of me. I seriously don’t want to have to take another cold shower!
He stands up and crosses his arms over his beefy chest. “Yeah, yeah. Lives there, lives with same difference if you ask me,” he huffs.
I’m still laughing as I leave the gym. I think a great cup of coffee would hit the spot right about now. When I walk into the coffee shop, I see it’s pretty dead. Only a couple of people in the corner, drinking, with their laptop’s open. Bren is cleaning a table, so I go and sit down right there. She jumps but composes herself quickly.
“Dang, baby. I keep startling you. I’m so sorry.” Baby? What the fuck? I couldn’t help that slip up though, it just had a mind of its own. Her smile brightens her face. Good. I look around at the vacant shop. “Do you have time for a break, maybe a quick cup of coffee?”
She looks around and smiles. “Two coffee’s coming right up.” She quickly goes behind the counter and comes back, placing the cups on the table and sits across from me. “So, what are you doing today?”
“Well, did my running this morning and then checked in at the gym. I bought it a few months ago and I like to check in a few times a week, unless they need me. Other than that, I am having quite the enjoyable time having a cup of the best coffee with my new friend.” Her smile is radiant as she lifts her cup to her luscious lips. Shit! I might have to take another cold shower later. “Your eye looks a lot better today.” Her smile is gone immediately. Damn, stupid fuck. What were you thinking bringing that up?
I watch her hand instinctively touch the side of her eye, looking at me with sadness. She sits up straight and smiles. “Oh, that. Yes, it’s healing pretty quickly. I’m such a klutz. It’s fine, really.” I smile, slightly and nod.
Leaning forward I take her hand in mine. “Remember, sometimes it’s good to talk. You know, to a friend. I know it can be difficult but it can also be therapeutic too. Just think about it.” She pulls her hand back fast and smiles.
“No, really. I am such a klutz. There’s nothing to talk about, but I appreciate it.”
Yep, she’s totally hiding something. I just know it. So, I dropped the subject, and we talked about a ton of other things until more people started coming into the shop, and she had to get back to work.
Back in my room, I find I am bored without Bren around. She’s so easy to talk to that I want to spill my guts to her. Maybe soon. My phone rings and my heart reopens when I hear the most beautiful voice.
“Hutch! How are you?” My sister, Lauren, yells into my ear. I can’t help but chuckle as I poke my finger in my ear to help clear it out. Damn, she gets so excited.
“I’m good, sis. How are things in Florida?” Lauren is my twin sister and gets my every mood, sometimes at the same time I do. She’s always been there for me. It was hard on her when Jodi got so bad. She’d just had her baby shortly before and couldn’t take the time she wanted to to come and be with us. She felt horrible and had to deal with her own grief and guilt after Jodi died. I didn’t help her much as I had gotten so withdrawn, which made it even worse on her. Guilt has a way of going full circle for you.
“So, what’s this I heard about a new girl? Bren is it?” Damn, Bailey’s got such a big mouth. I know she’s happy for me that I have any feelings at all for another woman, but damn, to tell Lauren is a mistake. I’m gonna have to have a talk with her.
“Um, well, she’s great actually,” I chuckle. “She’s beautiful, has a heart of gold and well, I guess I’m having some, um, feelings for her.” Damn, I couldn’t hardly get that out.
I hear a sigh. “Finally. I’m so happy for you, Hutch, really. I know it’s been hard, extremely hard. I’m so glad you’ve gotten to the point where you’ve realized that you can have more than one love in a lifetime. Jodi was special, very special, and you gave your whole heart to her but your heart has room for another love. I’m so very proud of you.”
“Sis, listen. I have to take this slow, trust me on that. This girl is skittish, very skittish and will run and I think I know why. She only just got here. You have to keep this to yourself, promise?” I ask pleadingly.
Silence. Too much silence.
“Ok. I get it. Do you think it’s bad, what she’s running from? I mean yours was bad and very hard on you but how bad do you think it is?” She asks.
“I don’
t know, sis. I think it’s pretty damn bad. She has some visual marks on her. They’re almost healed now, but from that, I think it’s horrible. You have to promise not to tell anyone, not even Michael and especially Mom and Dad. Promise!”
“Oh, my God! Poor thing. That makes me want to come there and hug her and tell her everything will be ok, that’s she’s safe now,” she hollers.
“Lauren!” I scream.
“Sorry! Sorry. Ok, I won’t but please keep me updated. Ok? Hey, I gotta go. Jordan is crying. Love you, bro! Take care of Bren.” And with that the call disconnects. I’m seriously gonna have a talk with Bailey. She doesn’t usually talk to anyone about anyone’s personal stuff. I wonder what’s gotten into her.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
My thoughts are all over the place as I finish cleaning up the coffee shop. I locked up about a half an hour ago, and it’s really not that messy in here, but I can’t stop cleaning. I do that when I’m stressed or frustrated, and I am both right now. He called me baby. Oh, my God! He called me baby, didn’t even blink when he said it, it just came out so easily. I want to give in to my feelings, but I just can’t. I need help. I want my life back, and I think I need help. But what do I do? How do I get past the fear, the heartache and the abuse?
I look up from the table I am cleaning, for the third time, when I hear a knock on the front door. That’s odd, the ‘Closed’ sign is up. I walk over and see a woman, probably in her fifties, I’d guess, standing there smiling at me. Oh, kay. I quickly unlock the door and open it a crack.
“I’m sorry, we’re closed,” I say with a smile on my face. “We’ll be open again at six-thirty in the morning. I hope you’ll come back and see us then.”
Her smile widens. “I’m so sorry to intrude but I wanted to introduce myself and I didn’t think while the shop was full of people was appropriate. My name is Kathryn Harmon.” She reaches her hand through the crack, so I open the door a bit more and shake it. “Do you have just a couple of minutes? I won’t take up much of your time.” Well, like everyone else here, she seems friendly enough. I open the door and she walks in, removing her coat and scarf and sits in the nearest chair. I lock the door again and sit across from her.
“Nice to meet you, Kathryn. I can’t get over how friendly everyone is here, so welcoming. I’m not used to that.” I smile. “Would you like some coffee? Tea perhaps?”
She settles her arms on the table and clasps her hands together. “Oh, no. Thank you so much for the offer. I’m really not going to take much of your time but I appreciate it.”
“Ok, then. What can I do for you?” I smile sweetly. This is nice but kind of strange. But then again, everything has been a little unreal and strange since I’ve been here.
She clears her throat. “Well, actually, I’m hoping I can do something for you. Everyone that comes to our little town normally has as a reason. I’m sure you’ve heard that by now.” I nod eagerly and sigh. “Yes, well, I make it a habit to introduce myself and offer my services when new people arrive. You see, I am the town’s Psychiatrist.” I sit up straight and stiffen, and she notices immediately.
She sits back slowly, I can tell her body relaxes. “Please, you don’t have to do anything you don’t feel comfortable doing or aren’t ready to do. There is absolutely no pressure whatsoever and I will never bring it up again. I only want you to know that I am here for you, for anyone who needs to talk or just needs someone to listen. Anything anyone tells me is strictly confidential.”
She rises from her chair, and I get up to follow. I unlock the door. She walks through and turns to me. “Remember, no pressure. Just wanted you to know I’m available, anytime. And I mean any time of the day or night.” She hands me her card, smiles and walks away. Well, this town does have more to offer than I thought. Can I talk to her? She seems really nice and genuine. I dunno. I’m not sure I’m ready. Maybe I need to though. Could it help? Could it hurt?
Another night of restless sleeps finds me grumpy in the morning. At least, I have the day off today. Maybe I need to go jogging and then drink a pot of coffee. I used to jog all the time. I love running, and it really clears my head. Hutch said something about a trail he likes to jog on, maybe I’ll take a jog on the trail. With my hair in a high ponytail, my half top, running shorts, and shoes on, I grab a bottled water from my mini fridge and place it in my waist pack. I head out of the house, around the corner and see the start of the trail. Perfect!
I’ve been running for a while now and check my watch. Yep, been an hour already, I’m sweating to death and still need to go back. Turning around I see a clump of big rocks off the side of the trail. I slow down my jog, and I decide to sit down on one of the rocks. I remove my bottled water from my waist pack and take several huge gulps. I sit there while calming my breathing down. Looking around I take in all the trees and the beautiful change of colors on their leaves. It really is breathtaking here. I’m so lucky to have found this town.
“Good Morning!” I jump, my bottle falling from my hands, the rest of the water spilling from it as it lands on the ground. Hutch walks over slowly and sits next to me on the rock. “Shit! I did it again. Damn, I’m so sorry.” He reaches down and picks up my now empty water bottle and places it in his small backpack. He produces a new bottled water and hands it to me. Smiling, I take it, remove the cap and take a big drink.
“Thanks. Sorry, I’m so jumpy. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.” He smiles back and shrugs.
“Lots of things make people jittery. I’m sure there’s a logical reason.” He winks and drinks from his own water bottle. “Ya know, I’m not one to pressure anyone, but like I said the other night. Sometimes it helps to talk.” He nudges my shoulder with his and smiles again.
I nudge him back and smile shyly. “I know. Thanks. I want to, truly, but not sure I can. At least not yet. I met Kathryn Harmon last night.” I watch as his eyebrow’s raise. “Yeah, she’s pretty nice. Maybe one day I’ll go talk to her.”
“She’s pretty terrific. Helped me out after I got here.” I raise my eyebrows in return. He laughs. “Yeah, one day I’ll tell you why. But for now, know that I know what it’s like to talk to someone, get it all out and feel better after talking about it and how it helped me to get back to living my life again. I’ve been there.” His smile is sweet and it makes me want him, so badly. Shit, there I go again.
I stand, tuck my bottled water in my waistband and turn to him. “Ready to go back? Race ya!” I don’t give him time to answer and I take off running back down the trail. He catches up to me easily not panting at all, while I can barely breathe. Damn, I need to get in better shape. We run picking up speed at the end, until we reach the lawn in the backyard. I come in a close second. After he falls to the ground, I collapse on the grass beside him. We are both lying down and breathing heavily.
He looks over at me, his breaths still coming out in pants, and I can barely see any sweat on him. That’s just not fair! “Damn, baby! You sure gave me a run for my money.” My heart stops at the word ‘baby’. Why does that make me feel so special? It makes my heart race and causes butterflies in my stomach. “Shit! I’m sorry! I guess when I’m around you that word just comes naturally to me.” He smiles at me and shrugs his shoulders.
I pat his arm playfully and look down. “Um, it’s ok. No one’s ever called me that before.” My eyes move to his. “No one’s really cared.” His gorgeous smile changes into a frown, his face showing concern. “And quit apologizing for everything you do and say to me.” His smile is back, and he starts laughing.
He rolls onto his side, propping his head up with his hand. “Hey, there’s a Last Chance Carnival going on at the other end of town today. It’s like a small fairground. Wanna go?” He asks excitedly.
I mimic him and roll over onto my side, placing my head in my hand. “A Carnival? How fun! Yes, I would love to go! Why is it called Last Chance?” His smile grows wider, if that’s possible, his dimples very apparent.
“Well, around this time
of year we normally get a day or two of warm weather, like today. But the weather will change pretty quickly after that. Snow will come, sometimes to the point that the whole town will shut down. So, they named it Last Chance since it’s the last chance to do something fun outside before it all hits.”
“Cool!” I look down at my sweaty body and then back at him. “What time does it start? I definitely need to take a shower before we go.”
He laughs, then gets serious. “I think you’re pretty perfect the way you are, but…” He looks at his watch. “About an hour.” Looking back at me he smirks. “Think you can be ready by then?” I punch him, gently, on his shoulder.
We get up, and we jog back to the house. I run upstairs, take the quickest shower of my life, put on some light makeup, put my hair back up into a ponytail and run down the stairs. He’s sitting on the couch watching a football game. He looks delicious. Again goes the fast heart rate as my eyes trail over him. Tennis shoes, jean shorts, and a tank top showing all his fine muscles, and a huge smile on his face as he catches me ogling him. Shit!
Laughing, he stands and walks over until he’s in front of me. “Ready?” I smile and nod. I just really can’t speak. He nudges my shoulder with his. “Let’s go.” We walk to the front door. He opens it, and he leans into me as I start to walk pass. “Got ready pretty quick. Didn’t think a woman could get ready that quickly.” I look at him, and we both burst out laughing.
Chapter Five
The day has been one of the best days I’ve had in a very long time. Bren and I have been enjoying the day with the rides, the food and getting to know each other more. She is so much fun. I love her giggles, her laughter, and God, her smile knocks me off my feet. I’m afraid I am falling way too fast for her, but I can’t stop myself. I don’t want to stop myself.
